Diego Parravicini, 2009 LLM Graduate, Writes and Speaks From Argentina

Diego Parravicini, who earned his LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, has had a busy year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he practices law with one of Latin America's most important firms Estudio Beccar Varela.

In November, he was published in EL DERECHO, one of the most prestigious law journals in Argentina. He wrote a paper analyzing the case “Cerro Vanguardia vs. DGI,” in which the Supreme Court of Argentina determined the scope of the fiscal stability benefit set forth by the Argentine Mining Investment Law, within the context of the promotion purposes (fomento) established by such mining fiscal regime. The article’s introduction is below. (The article is available in Spanish, upon request.)

"The system of incentives embodied in the Mining Investment Law 24 196 (LIM) was designed by the National Congress in order to promote the growth of the mining industry in Argentina. Indeed, the framework of benefits established by the LIM was aimed at encouraging the development of the mining sector through the implementation of conditions that decrease the risk of investment and attract capital. One of the most important benefits that the LIM granted to those who abide by it is the fiscal stability, i.e. the protective shield that ensures the investor a thirty year period of unmodified tax burden current to the moment of presentation of their feasibility study. The real extent of this benefit was considered by the Supreme Court's Office (CS) in 'Cerro Vanguardia SA (TF 22172-I) c. DGI.' This paper aims to analyze the ruling of the Supreme Court in the context of the purpose of promotion established in the LIM."

Also in November he gave a presentation at “Argentina Oro y Plata” a seminar organized by Panorama Minero, the most prestigious mining magazine in Argentina. He talked about a bill, currently under revision, by means of which the Congress is trying to prohibit, among other things, open pit mining and the use of cyanide lixiviation techniques in mining. "Pursuant to my analysis, this bill could possibly be challenged on constitutional grounds, since it is not reasonable and affects certain rights protected by our National Constitution," Diego says. The pictures (above) are from the Mining Law Panel.

Diego also writes:

"Last September I won a scholarship to attend a seminar on wind energy launched by the RENAC (Renewables Academy), a private German company that is working on TREE (Transfer of Renewable Energy & Efficienty), a project that was created to promote the transfer of renewable energy technology to individuals or entities from Third World Countries engaged in such business http://www.tree-project.de/. The Seminar, which was held in Berlin, covered the technical, financial and legal aspects of wind energy."

In conclusion, Diego says "2010 has been a great year for the natural resources law practice at Estudio Beccar Varela. Fortunately, I could participate in very important and interesting deals involving mining, oil and gas and energy matters, representing not only project owners, but also multilateral agencies and private financial entities.”

Felicitaciones Diego y buena suerte en 2011! (Congratulations Diego and good luck in 2011!).